. >>> also, the fiscal cliff. it's down to two people. everybody seems to agree, two people get in the room, the president and the leader of the opposition, john boehner, the speaker. they may be closer, some argue, to an agreement than we think. the question is can they sell the deal to their bases, to their fringies, left and right i must say. >>> plus, republicans say they would change after the lek and they are. guess what? they're changing the rules. some of them are proposing to republicans in pennsylvania and three other states obama won. they're trying to eliminate the winner take all system of awarding electoral votes. that way republicans could win electoral votes in states they lose. >>> new jersey governor chris christie finally meets his idol. the man he's seen in concert more than 100 times. the governor and the boss, bruce springsteen. they're friends now. this is "hardball," the place for politics. two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help those aff